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Caracas archdiocese rebukes attack on voters in Venezuela referendum

July 18, 2017 CNA Daily News 0

Caracas, Venezuela, Jul 18, 2017 / 04:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas has repudiated Sunday’s attack on a referendum in which the vast majority of participants expressed their opposition to the constituent assembly called by President Maduro.

The July 16 attack was carried out by armed groups in support of the nation’s socialist government.

Venezuela’s government plans to hold a constituent assembly which would have the authority to write a new constitution and to dissolve the country’s legislature, which is controlled by the opposition.

More than 7.6 million people across Venezuela are believed to have voted against the assembly in Sunday’s unofficial referendum, which was organized by the opposition.

The referendum led to violence in several areas across the country.

The Archdiocese of Caracas said the attack with shots fired against those in line to vote is “an unacceptable attack on the people and on Cardinal Urosa.”

After Mass, the cardinal and the priests were told that pro-government groups were harassing those who were participating in the consultation, which was taking place near Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Caracas’ Catia area.

After the shots that forced several hundred people to enter the church and which left one person dead and several injured, “the violent group continued to harass those who took refuge in the church and the the church doors had to be locked to protect them. The attackers prevented those inside from leaving the parish church.”

The news release by the Archdiocese of Caracas noted that “in view of the seriousness of the situation, the cardinal then called a priest to ask for support from the authorities. For his part, the pastor of the church, Fr. Tovar, spoke with some of those belonging to the group that was outside the church to ask them to end the siege of the people who had taken refuge inside the church. He reiterated to them that the parish facilities had not been provided for the consultation of the people. However, nothing came of it.”

The release of those inside the church occurred after the intervention of the authorities of the National Bolivarian Police, who spoke with Cardinal Urosa in order to evacuate those who were in the church with guarantees for their safety.

The statement also “totally repudiates the attack by armed groups against the citizens who were peacefully participating in the consultation of the people on the Constitutional Assembly, as well as subsequent siege of all the people who were in the parish church.”

The Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference posted on Twitter photos of a number of bishops participating in the consultation, including Cardinal Urosa and the conference’s president, Archbishop Diego Padrón Sanchez of Cumana, who told CNA that yesterday’s consultation was “successful with the massive as well as peaceful and democratic participation of the Venezuelan people,” which wants “peaceful as well as constitutional ways to get out of the crisis.”

The archbishop added that the people do not want a reform of the constitution but “a change in the system that is governing us and which is ultimately the cause of all the ills from which the country is suffering.”

“A change of the system, not just one person for others, but a change of the total system which also includes the person.”

Poor economic policies, including strict price controls, coupled with high inflation rates, have resulted in a severe lack of basic necessities in Venezuela, such as toilet paper, milk, flour, diapers and medicines.
Venezuela’s socialist government is widely blamed for the crisis. Since 2003, price controls on some 160 products, including cooking oil, soap and flour, have meant that while they are affordable, they fly off store shelves only to be resold on the black market at much higher rates.

 

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Senate committee considers Callista Gingrich nomination as Vatican ambassador

July 18, 2017 CNA Daily News 1

Washington D.C., Jul 18, 2017 / 03:38 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Callista Gingrich, nominated by President Donald Trump as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, laid out her priorities Tuesday at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Grilled on issues such as immigration, climate change, relations with Cuba and terrorism, Gingrich insisted that Trump has not cut discussion on the climate change and refugee debates, and voiced her commitment to fight human trafficking and promote human rights and religious freedom.

During the July 18 hearing, the committee also listened to remarks from three other Trump nominees: George E. Glass as U.S. Ambassador to Portugal, Carl Risch as Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, and Nathan Sales as the State Department’s counter-terrorism coordinator.

In her opening remarks, Gingrich voiced her thanks to President Trump for the nomination, and said she is looking forward to the possibility of collaborating with an institution that is active “on a global scale.”

The Holy See, she said, “is engaged on every continent to engage religious freedom and human rights, to fight terrorism and violence, to combat human trafficking, to prevent the spread of diseases like Ebola and HIV/AIDS, and to seek peaceful solutions to crises around the world.”

The Vatican and its various entities, she said, play “an active role” in troubled areas throughout the world, such as Venezuela, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The latter two nations were initially on the Pope’s travel itinerary this year, but were dropped due to security concerns.

“The Catholic Church is a unique global network, overseeing the world’s second international aid organization, operating over 25 percent of the world’s healthcare facilities and ministering to millions in every corner of the world,” Gingrich said, and emphasized her commitment to continue building stronger bilateral relations between the two countries, despite points of disagreement.

It is well known that Trump and Pope Francis differ sharply on the issues of immigration and climate change. Asked by Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire how she plans to engage the Vatican on immigration, given President Trump’s recent legislation, Gingrich insisted that the issue is a “grave concern” for Trump, and one he sees as “a priority.”

The U.S. isn’t “disengaging” on the issue, she said, and stressed the fact that the U.S. is one of the greatest providers of humanitarian aid as a potential point of collaboration on the issue.

“I think we can communicate our commitment to help those most in need,” she said.

When it comes to counter-terrorism efforts, Gingrich pledged collaboration.

And while opinions of diplomatic partners may differ in terms of policy, Gingrich said she looks forward to working with the Vatican “on those issues of our shared policy opportunities.”

The nominee was also questioned about her opinion of the Pope’s 2015 environmental encyclical “Laudato Si” and how to foster dialogue on the issue with the Vatican, given Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement earlier this year.

In her responses, Gingrich said Trump has “a great concern for our environment” and wants to make American an “environmental leader,” especially when it comes to promoting clean air and water.

“We will disengage and pull out of the Paris agreement, and either re-enter the Paris agreement or an entirely new agreement; one that is fair to Americans,” she said, and voiced hope that she can work with the Holy See as the U.S. seeks “a balanced policy; one that promotes American jobs, prosperity and energy security.”

When asked about the issue a second time by Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, who said he is less confident about Trump’s commitment to the climate issue, Gingrich said that she personally believes that “climate change exists and that some of it is due to human behavior.”

“But I do believe that as President Trump pursues a better deal for Americans, we will indeed remain an environmental leader in the world,” she said.

Gingrich didn’t know whether or not Trump has read the copy of “Laudato Si” given to him by Pope Francis during their meeting at the Vatican in May, and said that she has read “some of it” herself.

President Trump, she said, “wants the United States to be an environmental leader. We aren’t backing off of that, but we are seeking the security of this country, to promote jobs for Americans and to have better prosperity, so the focus is slightly different, but we do want to be an environmental leader.”

Another topic Gingrich said would be key to her role is human trafficking, which she called “a horrific offense that threatens our global security.”

The issue has been a key priority for Pope Francis from the beginning, having specifically asked the Pontifical Academy for Sciences to study the issue after his election.

It has also been a priority for President Trump’s daughter and high-profile adviser, Ivanka Trump, who after accompanying her father to his meeting with Pope Francis, met with victims of human trafficking helped by the Rome-based Sant’Egidio community.

When it comes to issues of global importance and partnerships in confronting them, Gingrich said that “it’s so important that we reach out to places like the Holy See and to promote good in the world and to make it a better place to advance our peace and our freedom and our human dignity.”

President Trump announced his choice of Callista, wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican in May.

She is the president of both Gingrich Productions in Arlington, Va. and the charitable non-profit Gingrich Foundation, and is a former Congressional aide.

Newt and Callista married in 2000, after having a six-year affair while Newt was married to his previous wife. Newt converted to Catholicism in 2009 and, in an interview that year with Deal Hudson at InsideCatholic.com, explained how Callista’s witness as a Catholic brought him towards the faith.

He noted that he had attended Masses at the National Shrine where Callista sang in the choir, and she “created an environment where I could gradually think and evolve on the issue of faith.”

At the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in 2011, he also cited Pope Benedict XVI’s 2008 visit to the U.S. as a “moment of confirmation” for him. At vespers with the Pope, where Callista sang in the Shrine choir, Newt recalled thinking that “here is where I belong.”

The couple worked on a documentary together that was released in 2010, “Nine Days That Changed the World,” that focused on Pope St. John Paul II’s 1979 pilgrimage to Poland when the former Soviet bloc country was under a communist government.

During the hearing, she referenced a second documentary film they recently produced titled “Divine Mercy: The Canonization of John Paul II.”

Should the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approve Gingrich after today’s meeting, her nomination will then move to the full Senate. If she is approved there, she’ll likely arrive to Rome this fall, showing up as soon as September.

 

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Report claims decades of abuse against 500 German choir boys

July 18, 2017 CNA Daily News 2

Regensburg, Germany, Jul 18, 2017 / 03:37 pm (CNA).- A new report claims that more students of a prestigious German choir were subjected to physical abuse than originally thought, and accuses the brother of Benedict XVI of turning a blind eye.

Ulrich Weber is the lawyer commissioned to investigate Regensburger Domspatzen, the official choir for the Regensburg Cathedral.

According to Weber, the July 18 report shows that the number children suspected to have been victimized is much greater than the 250 previously accounted for.

He said 500 members of the choir were exposed to physical harm and 67 suffered sexual abuse from 49 members of the school’s faculty, ranging from 1945 until the early 90s. Most of alleged perpetrators, he said, are not expected to face charges because of the length of time that has gone by.

The reported violence ranged from public ridicule, heavy beatings, and sexual abuse, but a large portion of the documented incidents involved slapping and food deprivation, a legal form of discipline in Bavaria until the 1980s.

Much of the heavier discipline was attributed to Johann Meier, a schoolmaster at one of the boarding schools from 1953 to 1992.

Weber has continued to blame Georg Ratzinger, brother of Pope Benedict XVI, for negligence on acting against the physical abuse, saying “one can accuse him of looking the other way and failing to intervene.” He has clarified however, that Fr. Ratzinger had no knowledge of sexual abuse.

Father Ratzinger, who was the director from 1964 to 1994, has also said that he was unaware of the degree of the physical abuse, according to a 2010 interview with Passauer Neue Presse.

“Had I known with what exaggerated fierceness he was acting, I would have said something,” he said in the interview of Meier, pointing out that he had only known about the discipline of slapping, a punishment common in many schools and homes in the area at the time.

However, many of the victims associated their time at the school with “fear, violence, and hopelessness,” Fr. Ratzinger said, apologizing for the corporal punishment of the time as well as the extreme abuse which occurred at the school.

“Of course, today one condemns such actions. I do as well. At the same time, I ask the victims for pardon.”

The Catholic Church has offered compensation to the victims of Regensburg, ranging from about $5,500 to $25,000. 

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Father Giacomo Morandi promoted to CDF secretary

July 18, 2017 CNA Daily News 1

Vatican City, Jul 18, 2017 / 12:19 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed Father Giacomo Morandi secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Italian priest had been a subsecretary in the dicastery since 2015.

Fr. Morandi was also appointed titular Archbishop of Caere July 18; the date of his episcopal consecration has yet to be determined.

He was born in Modena in 1965, and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Modena-Nonantola in 1990, at the age of 24.

Fr. Morandi obtained a licentiate in biblical sciences from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in 1992, and a licentiate and doctorate in the theology of evangelization from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 2008. He has taught scripture at several institutions.

In the Modena-Nonantola archdiocese he has served as a pastor, episcopal vicar for catechesis, evangelization, and culture, archpriest of the cathedral chapter, and vicar general.

Since October 2015 Fr. Morandi has served as subsecretary at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Fr. Morandi’s promotion from within the congregation fills the vacancy left by the July 1 appointment of Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., as the office’s prefect.

Archbishop Ladaria had in turn taken the place of Cardinal Gerhard Müller, whose five-year term in the post had expired, and which was not renewed.

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Corruption trial of former Vatican hospital officials begins

July 18, 2017 CNA Daily News 1

Vatican City, Jul 18, 2017 / 11:48 am (CNA/EWTN News).- One year after Vatican City charged a priest and a laywoman in the second “Vatileaks” trial, it has begun a legal process against two laymen accused of misallocating funds from the Vatican-owned children’s hospital, Bambino Gesu.

The hearing, which began at 10 a.m. inside the Vatican July 18, focused on charges brought against the former president and treasurer, respectively, of Bambino Gesù, Giuseppe Profiti and Massimo Spina.

The Vatican announced July 13 it was charging the two with illicit use of hospital funds in the amount of  more than 422,000 euro ($480,000) for the refurbishment of the apartment where Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, emeritus Secretary of State, lives.

The alleged crime is said to have been carried out between November 2013 and May 28, 2014, and to have benefited the construction firm of Italian businessman Gianantonio Bandera, which was carrying out the renovations.

Profiti and Spina were summoned to appear before the court by a June 16, 2017, decree from the president of the Vatican Tribunal, Giuseppe Dalla Torre, with the first hearing set for July 18.

During the hearing, Profiti and Spina were accompanied by their lawyers: Antonello Basi for Profiti, and Alfredo Ottaviano for Spina.

The judicial board was made up of Paolo Papanti Pelletier, president, Venerando Marano, judge, and Carlo Bonzano, judge. The office of the Promoter of Justice was represented by the promoter himself, Gian Piero Milano, and by an added promoter, Roberto Zannotti.

After the charge was read, the lawyers made an initial request that journalists be removed from the courtroom due to noise and pressure put on the defendants from their affirmation or dissatisfaction with the proceedings, suggesting that in the future, they be placed in a separate room to watch a live stream of the hearing.

Milano refused the request, insisting it is a public hearing, and that public interest itself demands that the process be public.

A second objection the lawyers brought, but which was also immediately dismissed, was that the Vatican had no jurisdiction over the case, since the headquarters of Bambino Gesu is located in a piazza that is not Vatican-owned, and because the money was sent to England.

However, both Milano and the tribunal affirmed that the offense happened the moment the transfer was made, and since it was done through an APSA account, it was therefore a Vatican offense.

APSA, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, oversees the Vatican’s real estate and investments.

Ottaviani and Basi also argued that the defendants are not public officials, given their work for the Vatican. However, it was ruled that in the Vatican’s statutes and laws, the definition of a public official does, in fact, include the responsibilities of Profiti and Spina.

The lawyers also requested that in future proceedings, all witnesses be called on the same day in order to avoid influence and pressure from the media, which was agreed on by everyone.  

Finally, at the request of the witnesses, a letter that in some way involves Cardinal Bertone was added to the trial documents.

Although the nature and contents of the letter are unknown, Ottaviani held that it was essential to the trial process, asking the tribunal permission to quote it as a testimony of the emeritus Secretary of State. Milano agreed, saying, “if needed, it will be discussed.”

The hearing closed by setting the dates for the next one: Sept. 7-9.

Among those present at the hearing from the public was Jeffrey Lena, legal adviser to the Holy See.

The Vatican reported it was conducting an investigation into this matter in 2016 after documents published in the “Vatileaks 2” scandal implicated there may have been an illicit transfer of funds from the hospital’s foundation.

Earlier this month, the Vatican held a press conference on the hospital to confirm that though it has had problems in the past, the Vatican has worked to resolve them.

The operations of the Bambino Gesù Hospital had come under scrutiny after a report by the Associated Press, which examined the hospital’s operations under its 2008-2015 administration, finding among other things that the Vatican-owned hospital had shifted its focus from its patients to profits and had subpar standards of care.  

In 2014, the Vatican conducted its own report on the hospital after fielding several complaints, and found many of the same things, including a focus on profits and breaches in accepted medical protocols including the reuse of disposable equipment, early awakening from surgery, and risk of infection due to overcrowding.

After the report, a widespread overhaul of the hospital staff and administration was conducted, and a 2015 report found that many of the previous issues had been resolved.

“For what regards the problems that were found, there was serious attention and effort to resolve them,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, said at the July 4 press conference.

The Bambino Gesù was founded in Rome in 1869 as the first pediatric hospital in Italy. In 1924 it was donated to the Holy See and became the “Pope’s Hospital.” While it receives funding from the Italian government, it does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Italian government’s health authorities.

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Vatican commission agrees to disagree on Cardinal Stepinac

July 18, 2017 CNA Daily News 2

Vatican City, Jul 18, 2017 / 10:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A commission of Catholic and Orthodox leaders tasked with examining the wartime record of Bl. Aloysius Stepinac concluded their final session last week, agreeing to disagree about the Croatian cardinal’s cause for canonization.

The Secretariat of the Holy See prepared a joint statement, adopted by both sides, at the conclusion of the commission’s sixth and final round of meetings at the Vatican July 12-13.

The document states that the opinions of either side remain unchanged, but also acknowledges that ultimately the competency for approval of the cardinal’s cause falls under Pope Francis.

“It has come to the conclusion that various events, speeches, writings, silences, and views are still subject to different interpretations. In the case of Cardinal Stepinac, the interpretations that were predominantly given by Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbs remain divergent,” it states.

It included their thanks to Pope Francis for establishing the commission, which he did in May 2016 after receiving a letter from the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Irinej, who stated his opposition to the cardinal’s canonization.

They also expressed their gratitude for the atmosphere of the discussions which allowed “full freedom of expression.”

“From the commencement of the commission’s work, the members were aware that the process of canonization of Cardinal Stepinac was in the exclusive competence of the Pope. They also admit that each Church has its own criteria for the canonization process,” it continued.

The Secretariat of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, accepted the outcome of the commission, which was led by Fr. Bernard Ardura, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences.

With the conclusion of the commission, the path to the canonization of Cardinal Stepinac is fully open. The proper requisites in place, it is in the hands of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and then will go to Pope Francis for approval. It is believed the announcement of his canonization could take place soon.

Cardinal Stepinac, who is hailed as a hero in Croatia, has been a target of decades-long communist smears and disinformation. Despite this, he was beatified as a martyr by Pope St. John Paul II in October 1998.

Many in the Serbian Orthodox community are deeply skeptical of the cardinal’s wartime record. Though one researcher of the period says the facts counter false claims about the beatified cardinal’s record.

“What you have is a false narrative created by Soviet agents,” Prof. Ronald J. Rychlak told CNA/EWTN News in 2016.

Cardinal Stepinac was the Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 until his death in 1960 at the age of 61. In Yugoslavia during the Second World War, the pro-Nazi Ustashe movement came to power under leader Ante Pavelic after the Axis occupied the country.

“Stepinac’s sermons against the Ustashe were so strong. They prohibited them from being published, because they were so strong against the Ustashe,” Rychlak said. Instead, his words were secretly printed and circulated and occasionally broadcast over the radio.

He also severely condemned the Ustashe’s destruction of Zagreb’s main synagogue in 1941 and in an October 1943 homily, the archbishop condemned notions of racial superiority.

In 1946, Stepinac was put on trial for allegedly collaborating with the Ustashe’s crimes. The trial drew critical coverage from Western media like Time and Newsweek and protests from those who saw it as a show trial.

Archbishop Stepinac was denied effective representation and only met with his attorney for an hour before the trial. The government’s witnesses were told what to say, and the archbishop was not allowed to cross-examine them.

In 1953, Pope Pius XII made him a cardinal, although he was never allowed travel to the Holy See to be officially elevated. He died in 1960 of an alleged blood disorder, which was said to have been caused by the conditions he endured in jail. Recent tests of his remains by Vatican investigators show evidence he was also poisoned.

In June 2011 Pope Benedict XVI praised Cardinal Stepinac as a courageous defender of those oppressed by the Ustashe, including Serbs, Jews and gypsies.

He said the cardinal stood against “the dictatorship of communism, where he again fought for the faith, for the presence of God in the world, the true humanity that is dependent on the presence of God.”

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Would-be bride turns cancelled reception into feast for homeless

July 18, 2017 CNA Daily News 1

Indianapolis, Ind., Jul 18, 2017 / 03:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Many couples spend thousands of dollars on their dream wedding. But what happens when you have to call it all off?

Faced with the question that no bride or groom would ever want to answer, Sarah Cummins and Logan Araujo had to decide what to do with the $30,000 non-refundable wedding reception they were left with after calling off their wedding for undisclosed reasons.

“It was really devastating,” Cummins told the IndyStar. And besides getting some money back on the photographer, everything else seemed like sunk cost.

“I called everyone, canceled, apologized, cried, called vendors, cried some more and then I started feeling really sick about just throwing away all the food I ordered for the reception,” she said.

After checking with Araujo, Cummins decided to invite people from four local homeless shelters to enjoy a fancy dinner and reception at the Ritz Charles in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis. She hoped to fill the 170 spots they had reserved for guests.

“For me, it was an opportunity to let these people know they deserved to be at a place like this just as much as everyone else does,” Cummins said.

She even arranged bus transportation to the venue from the various shelters, and greeted the guests as they arrived. She almost didn’t go, thinking it might be too painful, but changed her mind after one of the homeless program directors said they couldn’t wait to meet her.

“Thank you for having us,” one of the guests, a homeless veteran, told Cummins as he arrived. “It means more than you know.”

Cummins’ mother, along with some of her would-be bridesmaids, were also in attendance.

The guests dressed in their best and dined on the on hors d’oeuvres of bourbon-glazed meatballs, goat cheese and roasted garlic bruschetta, and the main dish of chicken breast with artichokes and Chardonnay cream sauce.

Cummins’ generosity inspired others, including Matt Guanzon of Indianapolis, who donated some suits from his own closet and recruited others to do the same, including a tailor and a gown shop, which contributed suits, dresses, and accessories.

Not much had changed about the routine of the reception, besides cutting the cake in the kitchen, and removing the head table.

Ritz center development director Cheryl Herzog was so touched by Cummins’ generosity that she reached out to the IndyStar about the story.

“I was so touched that Sarah had taken a painful experience and turned it into a joyful one for families in need,” Herzog said. “It is truly a very kind gesture on her part.”

Guest Erik Jensen, from a local mission, said it was “a great time.”

“It’s just a really great opportunity for us, that was going to be a huge tragedy in her life,” he said.

“It’s a great opportunity to spread love. Being homeless is kind of a big loss for all of these guys. This is just a very nice thing to do.”

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